The present invention relates to a device for sowing seed, particularly a seed drill. More particularly, the device relates to a hollow rotating sowing tube, which receives a seed from a seed box at one end of the tube and deposits the seed in the ground at the opposite end of the tube.
In the field of agriculture, it is a common need to plant seeds, particularly round seeds such as soy beans, below a soil surface. A seed planting device for such a seed must therefore penetrate the soil surface to prepare a furrow, deposit the seed in a reproducible fashion along the row-like furrow so that the seeds are properly spaced from each other, and then close the furrow in which the seed has been deposited, so that the seed is not exposed to the elements and to animals who would eat the seed, thereby preventing proper germination and growth.
In some prior art, the device used to achieve this goal comprises a disk or similar device to cut or open the furrow, a hollow, non-rotating seed tube to deposit the seed and a separate device to close the furrow. For example, USSR Pat. 147055 to Volkov shows a device for dispersing seed from a seed supply into a pre-formed furrow. The seed-dispersing device rotates, but it does not use this rotation in any manner to either open or close the furrow. U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,951 to Hook teaches an electronic seed rate system for a xe2x80x9cgrain drill,xe2x80x9d but it does not appear to teach a device where a rotating seed tube is used as the furrow-forming tools. U.S. Pat. No. 763,308 to Mitchell shows a rotary seed disk for distributing seed into a tubular dropping spout, which lies next to a furrow-opening blade. The spout does not rotate and does not assist in cutting the furrow. British Patent Specification 929,063 to Jordan teaches a sowing machine in which a rotating member distributes seed from a seed supply bin into a seed outlet channel, but the seed outlet channel is not shown as being rotated to assist is cutting the furrow. Japanese Patent Application 4-128604 to Sawada teaches a sort of xe2x80x9cpea shooterxe2x80x9d for blowing rice seed into paddy rice, but the sowing pipe does not rotate and does not even contact the soil.
A different device illustrative of the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,6331 to Fiedler. This patent teaches a method of planting seed that is in a gel media. A xe2x80x9cknife-likexe2x80x9d soil opener cuts open the soil to a pre-determined depth and a bead of the seed-containing gel is pumped through a dispenser nozzle located behind the soil opener into the furrow.
Another technique of the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,224 to Winslow, where a seed dispensing wheel has individual radial tubes through which the seed passes, but the tubes are not rotated about their longitudinal axes.
It is therefore a desired goal to provide a device in which a tube, rotated about its longitudinal axis, provides both a soil opening for deposit of a sequence of seeds below the soil surface as well as a conduit for transmission of the sequence of seeds from a seed source to the soil opening.
This and other advantages of the present invention are provided by a device for depositing a plurality of seeds in a sequential manner below a soil surface. Such a device comprises a means for propelling the seed depositing device in a forward direction along the soil surface; a device, having at least one outlet port, for containing the plurality of seeds; at least one device for dispensing seeds in sequential manner from the seed containing device, one of the seed dispensing devices being provided for each outlet port of the seed containing device; at least one seed implanting device; and a means for mounting each of the at least one seed implanting devices to the seed depositing device.
Each of the seed implanting devices will comprise a hollow seed tube, with the hollow seed tube being adapted to be rotated about a longitudinal axis by a means for rotating. The hollow seed tube will have open first and second ends and a tube body between the open ends, defining the longitudinal axis. The open first end will be adapted for receiving seeds in sequential manner from the seed dispensing device, to which the open first end is communicated. In use, the longitudinal axis of each hollow seed tube is set at an acute angle to the soil surface as the seed implanting device is moved forwardly across the soil surface and the open second end of each hollow seed tube is below the soil surface at a predetermined depth.
In some aspects of the invention, the means for rotating each tube body about its longitudinal axis is adapted to allow the speed of rotation to be selectively varied.
Similarly, in some aspects of the invention, the means for mounting each seed implanting device is adapted to allow the angularity of the tube bodies with respect to the soil surface to be selectively varied.